Competency H
_H. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of current information and communication technologies, and other related technologies, as they affect the resources and uses of libraries and other types of information providing entities.
Introduction
Having a father who is a computer programmer meant that technology was a part of my life since elementary school. I have grown up with computers and communicating in an online format. That being the case, this competency means to me that I need to know how to use current ways of communication, i.e. Twitter, to find ways to gather information as well as connect with people. While these technologies are changing all the time, showing that I know how to communicate with current ones is an important part of my education.
In the past 25 years, technology has changed the way people get information. Rubin (2004) writes that “library and information science is a discipline oriented to providing access to vast amounts of accumulated knowledge” (26). Michael Casey and Laura Savastinuk (2006) have an excellent quote that highlights the necessity for today’s MLIS graduates to have the knowledge and understanding of current technologies. They write:
Libraries are changing. Funding limits and customer demands are transforming staffing levels, service models, access to resources, and services to the public. Administrators and taxpayers are seeking more efficient ways of delivering services to achieve greater returns on financial investments (1).
For me as a librarian and archivist, I understand this competency to mean I need to know to use and be decently proficient at current technologies that will help me communicate with my patrons, whether that is using Facebook, Twitter, wikis, or something else. As for what this competency means to the profession, more and more patrons are finding their informational needs through new technologies such as Facebook, Twitter, or wikis, therefore librarians and archivists need to understand them as well as be comfortable using them. In today’s world, more and more patrons are also finding out library and archive pages on communication technologies and if these are not current or under-used, it can cause a library or archive to lose patrons. Because of this, it is necessary to be knowledgeable in the use of these technologies.
The other part of competency H, current information technologies, is something I feel is important to both me as a librarian or archivist and the profession as a whole. Understanding how to use current databases such as the Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphic materials I: Subject terms to help describe materials in collections. By knowing how to do this it helps better define keywords for users to search for materials. Also, in working at an archive, I have learned how to use and have gained the knowledge of how the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names online database works. Lastly, through classes such as Photographic preservation, I have learned about sites such as Graphics Atlas. This site allows me to show patrons how to tell when roughly their photographs were produced, what type of photographs or print materials they are, and what possible things could damage them. These websites and databases are important for me in my work as a librarian and archivist to help aid patrons but they are important to the profession for the same reason.
In many other classes as well as my work experience, I have had to use search engines and databases, such as Google, or WorldCat. These places are extremely important for librarians, archivists, and information professionals alike. Not only are they engrained in our society due to their presence but we, as a profession, must have the knowledge and experience to know how to use them in order to help our patrons in their searching. Having gained this experience, I feel competent that I can help future patrons search for the materials they desire.
For this competency, I looked at several different projects I had done throughout my education and came up with three pieces of evidence. These pieces will show a broad depth in different technologies. I have taken coursework in digital preservation, web 2.0, and how archives meets web 2.0. These, as well as other classes have given me tips and tools to become a better archivist and librarian. In order to demonstrate communication and information technologies, I have provided evidence such as a blog, a wiki, a Facebook page, and tagging. The following paragraphs will explain these pieces in more detail and how they fit the competency.
Evidence
The first piece of evidence that I am providing is my blog that I wrote for LIBR 220-14 (Music Informatics). This blog was a requirement of the class and shows that I know and understand the workings of how to write a blog. The blog can be found at: http://trebleclefslis.blogspot.com/ and all the posts for LIBR 220 are with the label, LIBR 220. I have since continued this blog for other classes (LIBR 284 and LIBR 220-13, specifically). I have been blogging since roughly 2004. The knowledge I’ve gained from other blogs as well as librarian and archives blogs have shown me how important they are to today’s librarians. I think it is one of the easiest ways to get information to a specific group of people (Haycock and Sheldon, 2008).
The second piece of evidence that I am providing is the Facebook page that was created for LIBR 246 (Web 2.0). It was created for our final project, which was to use 2.0 technologies to integrate into a library. Our group chose to do a museum library and so we created the fake presidential library for Josiah Bartlet (from NBC’s The West Wing). One of the 2.0 technologies we used was Facebook. It can be found at this address: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Josiah-Bartlet-Presidential-Library-Museum/252058308137917. Facebook is one of the most popular ways to reach users. In today’s climate of social networking, Facebook has boomed to be the most popular way of reaching people. According to a study in King’s article (2011), “Facebook for libraries”, “41% of the U.S. population has a personal Facebook profile” (1). Due to the fact that Facebook is so popular, it is imperative that librarians learn how to use it to their full advantage.
The third and final piece of evidence that I am submitting is a wiki created for LIBR 284 (Archives Meets Web 2.0). This project was to preserve different types of 2.0 technologies for future reference as well as using 2.0 technologies to preserve and/or showcase the information. In this project there were five artifacts per team member, as well as written documentation on analyzing the artifacts and the preservation issues that came with them. Our group decided to use well know public figures and the 2.0 technologies they use to interact with the public and vice versa. We created a wiki to display our artifacts and this can be found here: http://celebritytimecapsule2011.wikispaces.com/Welcome! While our wiki is somewhat different from a tradition wiki, in that we did not allow other users to create content (Haycock and Sheldon, 2008), it was still able to provide information to users. Wikis have become an important tool in today’s culture of providing information to users and patrons and thus it important that librarians have the skills to create and/or add to wikis.
Conclusion
I have also demonstrated a proficiency in communication technologies as blogs, twitter, Facebook, and wikis and how they affect and effect librarians and other places such as archives and museums. Knowing about these technologies and the capability to use them will give me as a future librarian or information professional the ability to not only help my patrons but also contribute to the profession as well. I have also written about the experiences I have in using current information technologies such as Google, WorldCat, Library of Congress Subject Terms, and Graphics Atlas. These are vital tools in today’s society of information gathering.
Evidence:
Blog
Facebook
Wiki
References
Blyberg, J. (2006, January 9). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.blyberg.net/2006/01/09/11-reasons-why-library-20-exists-and-matters.
Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2006, September 6). Service for the next-generation library. Library Journal, Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html.
Haycock, K., & Sheldon, B. (2008). The portable mlis: Insights from the exports. Westport: Libraries Unlimited.
King, D. L. (2011, May 27). Facebook for libraries. American Libraries, Retrieved from http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/05272011/facebook-libraries.
Porter, J. (2005, April 26). Folksonomies: A user-driven approach to organizing content. Retrieved from http://www.uie.com/articles/folksonomies/.
Rubin, R. E. (2004). Foundations of library and information science. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
Introduction
Having a father who is a computer programmer meant that technology was a part of my life since elementary school. I have grown up with computers and communicating in an online format. That being the case, this competency means to me that I need to know how to use current ways of communication, i.e. Twitter, to find ways to gather information as well as connect with people. While these technologies are changing all the time, showing that I know how to communicate with current ones is an important part of my education.
In the past 25 years, technology has changed the way people get information. Rubin (2004) writes that “library and information science is a discipline oriented to providing access to vast amounts of accumulated knowledge” (26). Michael Casey and Laura Savastinuk (2006) have an excellent quote that highlights the necessity for today’s MLIS graduates to have the knowledge and understanding of current technologies. They write:
Libraries are changing. Funding limits and customer demands are transforming staffing levels, service models, access to resources, and services to the public. Administrators and taxpayers are seeking more efficient ways of delivering services to achieve greater returns on financial investments (1).
For me as a librarian and archivist, I understand this competency to mean I need to know to use and be decently proficient at current technologies that will help me communicate with my patrons, whether that is using Facebook, Twitter, wikis, or something else. As for what this competency means to the profession, more and more patrons are finding their informational needs through new technologies such as Facebook, Twitter, or wikis, therefore librarians and archivists need to understand them as well as be comfortable using them. In today’s world, more and more patrons are also finding out library and archive pages on communication technologies and if these are not current or under-used, it can cause a library or archive to lose patrons. Because of this, it is necessary to be knowledgeable in the use of these technologies.
The other part of competency H, current information technologies, is something I feel is important to both me as a librarian or archivist and the profession as a whole. Understanding how to use current databases such as the Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphic materials I: Subject terms to help describe materials in collections. By knowing how to do this it helps better define keywords for users to search for materials. Also, in working at an archive, I have learned how to use and have gained the knowledge of how the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names online database works. Lastly, through classes such as Photographic preservation, I have learned about sites such as Graphics Atlas. This site allows me to show patrons how to tell when roughly their photographs were produced, what type of photographs or print materials they are, and what possible things could damage them. These websites and databases are important for me in my work as a librarian and archivist to help aid patrons but they are important to the profession for the same reason.
In many other classes as well as my work experience, I have had to use search engines and databases, such as Google, or WorldCat. These places are extremely important for librarians, archivists, and information professionals alike. Not only are they engrained in our society due to their presence but we, as a profession, must have the knowledge and experience to know how to use them in order to help our patrons in their searching. Having gained this experience, I feel competent that I can help future patrons search for the materials they desire.
For this competency, I looked at several different projects I had done throughout my education and came up with three pieces of evidence. These pieces will show a broad depth in different technologies. I have taken coursework in digital preservation, web 2.0, and how archives meets web 2.0. These, as well as other classes have given me tips and tools to become a better archivist and librarian. In order to demonstrate communication and information technologies, I have provided evidence such as a blog, a wiki, a Facebook page, and tagging. The following paragraphs will explain these pieces in more detail and how they fit the competency.
Evidence
The first piece of evidence that I am providing is my blog that I wrote for LIBR 220-14 (Music Informatics). This blog was a requirement of the class and shows that I know and understand the workings of how to write a blog. The blog can be found at: http://trebleclefslis.blogspot.com/ and all the posts for LIBR 220 are with the label, LIBR 220. I have since continued this blog for other classes (LIBR 284 and LIBR 220-13, specifically). I have been blogging since roughly 2004. The knowledge I’ve gained from other blogs as well as librarian and archives blogs have shown me how important they are to today’s librarians. I think it is one of the easiest ways to get information to a specific group of people (Haycock and Sheldon, 2008).
The second piece of evidence that I am providing is the Facebook page that was created for LIBR 246 (Web 2.0). It was created for our final project, which was to use 2.0 technologies to integrate into a library. Our group chose to do a museum library and so we created the fake presidential library for Josiah Bartlet (from NBC’s The West Wing). One of the 2.0 technologies we used was Facebook. It can be found at this address: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Josiah-Bartlet-Presidential-Library-Museum/252058308137917. Facebook is one of the most popular ways to reach users. In today’s climate of social networking, Facebook has boomed to be the most popular way of reaching people. According to a study in King’s article (2011), “Facebook for libraries”, “41% of the U.S. population has a personal Facebook profile” (1). Due to the fact that Facebook is so popular, it is imperative that librarians learn how to use it to their full advantage.
The third and final piece of evidence that I am submitting is a wiki created for LIBR 284 (Archives Meets Web 2.0). This project was to preserve different types of 2.0 technologies for future reference as well as using 2.0 technologies to preserve and/or showcase the information. In this project there were five artifacts per team member, as well as written documentation on analyzing the artifacts and the preservation issues that came with them. Our group decided to use well know public figures and the 2.0 technologies they use to interact with the public and vice versa. We created a wiki to display our artifacts and this can be found here: http://celebritytimecapsule2011.wikispaces.com/Welcome! While our wiki is somewhat different from a tradition wiki, in that we did not allow other users to create content (Haycock and Sheldon, 2008), it was still able to provide information to users. Wikis have become an important tool in today’s culture of providing information to users and patrons and thus it important that librarians have the skills to create and/or add to wikis.
Conclusion
I have also demonstrated a proficiency in communication technologies as blogs, twitter, Facebook, and wikis and how they affect and effect librarians and other places such as archives and museums. Knowing about these technologies and the capability to use them will give me as a future librarian or information professional the ability to not only help my patrons but also contribute to the profession as well. I have also written about the experiences I have in using current information technologies such as Google, WorldCat, Library of Congress Subject Terms, and Graphics Atlas. These are vital tools in today’s society of information gathering.
Evidence:
Blog
Wiki
References
Blyberg, J. (2006, January 9). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.blyberg.net/2006/01/09/11-reasons-why-library-20-exists-and-matters.
Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2006, September 6). Service for the next-generation library. Library Journal, Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html.
Haycock, K., & Sheldon, B. (2008). The portable mlis: Insights from the exports. Westport: Libraries Unlimited.
King, D. L. (2011, May 27). Facebook for libraries. American Libraries, Retrieved from http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/05272011/facebook-libraries.
Porter, J. (2005, April 26). Folksonomies: A user-driven approach to organizing content. Retrieved from http://www.uie.com/articles/folksonomies/.
Rubin, R. E. (2004). Foundations of library and information science. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.